Warning: Contains Spoilers
Season eight has so far seen numerous emotional reunions and tense first meetings, but there was one character who we were all longing to see.
In the early seasons, Ghost could not be parted from Jon Snow’s side, with the ‘runt’ pair being just as inextricably connected as Dany and her dragon ‘children’.
Ghost accompanied Jon to Castle Black when he joined the Night’s Watch, and took part in many of his adventures beyond the wall. When Jon was fatally stabbed through the heart, it was Ghost who watched over his dead body with a fierce and loving protectiveness.
However, Ghost was barely seen – or even alluded to much – in season seven, and the lack of his magnificent presence had been felt by all.
Now Ghost has made a casual and low key return, befitting his famously modest master. As Jon and Sam reminisced over their eventful days in the Night’s Watch, Ghost padded into the darkened background.
It was easy to miss this brief little entrance, but thankfully it appears Ghost won’t just be stuck in the Winterfell kennels this season.
Speaking with the Huffington Post last year, visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer said:
Ghost does show up, and he does some … he’s very present and does some pretty cool things in Season 8.
Check out the nail-biting preview for season eight, episode three below:
Out of the six direwolf pups gifted to the Stark siblings, only two are still alive; with Arya’s Nymeria presumably still running wild as a ferocious leader of a pack.
However, these brave and beautiful creatures have been a crucial part of the Stark narrative, often showing the sort of courage and loyalty the honourable family pride themselves on.
Who could forget when Summer laid down his life to protect Bran from the Wights? Or when Grey Wind helped Robb Stark to fight many battles against the Lannister armies?
It would be a real shame if we didn’t get some more scenes of Jon and Ghost together, and I have a strong feeling that the giant good boy will play a significant role in serving his master as the army of the dead approaches…
Welcome back Ghost!
You can now – finally – watch the new season of Game of Thrones on HBO or Sky Atlantic.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.